tional fame and deservedly became honorary member of the International Numis-
matic Commission.
In the meantime, however, he had left the Coin Cabinet in Copenhagen in 1957 to
become professor of ancient history at the University of Aarhus. He devoted most
of his time and energy to his teaching, which combined inspiring enthusiasm and
clear instructions, with rigorous standards for profound knowledge and solid argu-
ments. To this purpose, he led joined excursions to Egypt, Greece, and Italy, which
many of his former students still remember with great pleasure. Administrative
responsibilities were added, especially from 1972, when he was elected – and sev-
eral times re-elected – head of the History Department, in accordance with the Uni-
versity’s new statutes. His efficient leadership is the main reason for the
Department’s survival in the troublesome 70s.
Thomsen also spent much time and energy as editor – and often himself as author
– of several textbooks on historical subjects of all periods, as well as of a dictionary
of history for the general Danish reader. Still he continued his research. His Eis-
phora. A Study of Direct Taxation in Ancient Athens, in 1964, and The Origin of
Ostracism, in 1972, were received less favourably by reviewers, but there can hardly
be any doubt that King Servius Tullus, from 1980, will remain a standard work of
reference for many years, due to its exhaustive discussion of every ancient and mod-
ern source of evidence. He then turned his interest to the history of ancient China.
After his retirement in 1986 he continued to write books, all in Danish and
intended for the general public. Most remarkable is Oldtidens penge (“Coinage of
the Ancient World”) in 1994, where he demonstrated his expertise of the latest
scholarly debate on the beginning of ancient coinage. He had many plans for further
books, even during the last months of his life, when his unrelenting energy began to
fade away.
Erik C
HRISTIANSEN
History Department
University of Aarhus
31
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